Globalisation, Climate Change and Urban Governance: Balancing the Scales for Both Efficient and Pro-Poor Urban Futures – The Case of Brazil and the UK

his project, based at Oxford Brookes University, aims to understand the urban governance challenges arising from contemporary processes of globalisation in Brazil and the UK. By contrasting the current UK recession with the rapid growth taking place in Brazil, the project will look at both the potential and the limitations of the two countries’ governance strategies, with respect to social inclusion, climate change and sustainability.
About the project
The main aim of this network is to develop research capacity and facilitate transfer of knowledge on governance for sustainable futures in Brazil and the UK.
Research themes

• Globalisation, urban economic restructuring and urban competitiveness,
• Forms and processes of urban governance,
• Climate change and environmental planning,
• Emerging patterns of agglomeration and local economies including operation of real estate markets and its impact on local communities and livelihoods.

Current activities
Project activities so far have included nine position papers to facilitate discussion and exchange of views as well as an inception workshop with participation of the core team and a number of other colleagues from Oxford Brookes and the University of Oxfordp. The rimary vehicle for developing the debates and producing the outputs, however, are 2 three-day workshops in Brazil and the UK. The Brazil workshop was held 22-25 November 2010 in Sao Paulo and the UK workshop is planned for March 2011.
About the research team
The core team comprises researchers from Oxford Brookes and the Federal University of ABC Region in Sao Paulo with involvement of a wider group of researchers and practitioners in the network.